The Other Moon
by EwokPoet
Summary: Ewoks of Bright Tree Village are concerned. They don't want any other Endorian sentients to be attacked like the Duloks of Gorneesh's tribe were [in Shadows of Endor graphic novel]. Chief Chirpa sends out an expedition of 4 adolescent Ewoks, who will see true colours of the yet-unnamed Galactic Empire, and get to know an Ewok tribe nothing like their own...
1. Introduction

This is a sequel to Snowed In and prequel to another story.


	2. Prologue

**_Somewhere on the forest moon of Endor, circa 1 BBY_**

The shadow reappeared solely to disappear again. The chaser swallowed a lump. He was not sure if the intruder was breathing behind his back, or if it was just the wind blowing. After a long, sleepless night, all the sounds of the forest were starting to resemble each other and now they were even starting to sound like his and his friend's own voices. By now, they had spent hours running around the forest, tracing the damp, muddy footprints. Being plump and reasonably short, he never liked running. The smell of his own damp fur in a stormy night was making him feel uneasy.

His name was Mechett and he was a healer.

He and Rango – his closest friend from the earliest days and now the tribe's much admired chief – had been on guard duty in the middle of a thunderstorm when they encountered the menace that their fellow villagers claimed they had seen a few times. Now it was close to dawn and they were getting tired, but their enemy was not. Up till now they had not managed to catch a glimpse of his face, let alone attempt to capture him. When they finally did see him, they lost him again and they were on the edge of the forest and close to home.

"So, now we know that he is a Yuzzum." Mechett leaned against a nearby oddly-shaped blasé tree, panting. He could not run and talk at the same time. "I did not expect that!"

They were not willing to continue the chase with the rain falling over the nearby small body of water and lightning hitting somewhere in the distance behind them. The odd tree with its dense crown seemed like a perfect shelter.

"I hate Yuzzums, but this is the worst kind of Yuzzum I have seen in my entire life!" Burly, dark-furred Rango nervously poked his spear against the bark and sat down. "I understand that we are not born with nature powers to begin with, because powers are for the spirits to interfere with, but I swear that this creature has them!"

"Chak, right, no nature powers among us Ewoks!" Mechett almost tripped on the root. "So, whatever we are dealing here could be a Yuzzum god that they summoned and offered a sacrifice to!"

"A bloody sacrifice, you think? That's a scary thought right there! Remember when I banished those frightening...Mechett, are you listening to me?" Rango got up, seeing that his friend was not responding.

"Rango, do you see it?" Mechett pulled his friend's large hand. "Look up in the sky!"

Shading his eyes with his hand, Rango looked at what Mechett was pointing. It was not moving and it looked like a crescent moon. The colour was not the yellowish white they were used to, so it could not have been a new star. It wasn't as though new stars were going to pop in the dotted night sky out of nowhere.

"Strange. It's not the time for the Sistermoon to be visible to us yet, since it's now with those tree-dwelling folk on the other side, far away."

"That's no Sistermoon, Rango!"

"Then what is it? Do you know?"

"No. I just…I just think it could not be the Sistermoon, since that would mean the…the sky has shrunk and the end of the world is coming! Also, the Sistermoon is much, much bigger!"

Mechett couldn't possibly tell Rango about the prophecy, since that would have gotten him in trouble. He shared all of his secrets with his best friend. All of them but one – the one he thought would end their friendship and break their village apart.

"So, are we going to tell the Council about this?" he asked.

"Chak. If they're still listening to us after we've told them that we were unable to catch this – aaaaargh!"

Just as Rango was about to mention the ghostly Yuzzum again, it jumped from the tree and stabbed him in the cheek. He screamed and tried to reach for his spear, which remained stubbornly stuck in the bark.

"Dengar, Ewoks!" Mechett head-butted the menace. Seconds later, he was pushed back against the tree and everything turned black. Once he came round, Rango lay in a pool of blood, his hood torn off and his face disfigured.

"Rango!" Mechett laid his head on his friend's chest. The injured chief let out something that would have been a scream if his mouth and throat hadn't been full of foam and blood. Mechett jumped and gently tried to touch Rango's chest again, prompting another painful sigh.

"He…he's crushed your chest bone! I need to treat your injuries!"

Rango only managed to mutter a barely audible "no". Mechett pulled out a straw from his pouch and tried to suck out as much bile as he could from his friend's throat. The burly warrior reached for the straw and pulled it out.

"There is no time. I…I have to tell you something important before I die."

"You are not going to die, Rango. I'm a healer!"

Rango shook his head. Even in his agony, he could not get over how stubborn Mechett was. In his last-ever bout of anger, he realised that he couldn't possibly tell his friend about the biggest deception in the history of their village – that would have gotten somebody in trouble.

He shared all of his secrets with his best friend. All of them but one – the one he thought would end their friendship and break their village apart.

"Mechett...I…appreciate your effort, but my heart is…barely" – he gasped for air – "beating. Please, tell my wife and my...my...my...my son that I loved them." He took Mechett's hand. "And make sure you take over the duties from the council until…cough…he is old enough to succeed me. I don't trust anybody else. And beware of..."

Rango stopped talking as one last stream of blood and bile came out of his throat. His eyes remained open and his tongue, barely recognisable from foam, blood and vomit, hung out of his mouth. A tearful Mechett shook him and pressed his head against his friend's chest. There was nothing that could bring Rango back – not even the numerous gods the other Ewok tribes believed in. Still, he laid the corpse down and looked up through the treetops, praying one last time to Brother Sky to have mercy on his friend's soul. Faced with his best friend's death, he found himself believing in afterlife.

Instead of the stars, he came face to face with a pair of yellow eyes on a branch high above him.

He snarled. With strength he never knew he had, jumped onto the tree and climbed up to the branch, his axe between his teeth. The thin Yuzzum was sitting on a fork of two branches close to the top of the tree, cackling like an evil forest spirit. He was now adorned with Rango's long hood, his face barely showing.

Not thinking much, Mechett swung the axe, severing one of the menace's hands. The Yuzzum did not let out a single cry of pain but just looked at his hand as it fell to the ground.

"You really like being angry, midget!" The thin Yuzzum spoke near-perfect Ewokese.

"Not midget. Mechett! I spent my whole life with Rango! I remember holding him when I was a wokling and he was an infant! He was destined to become a great leader, just like all the sons of the Arankoo family! And he was the best leader our village ever had!"

"You also talk too much, midget…and none of it makes sense." The Yuzzum directed the index finger of his remaining hand towards the ground below, summoning the severed hand. Mechett observed the ghostly hand floating in what looked like a bubble of light and then wielded the axe again, this time missing his target. The axe was now stuck in the thick branch he stood on.

"Great! This is where I wanted you!" The Yuzzum menace cackled again. "Sure this old tree is notorious for getting weapons stuck in its bark."

Mechett's whole life was flashing before his eyes. He expected the creature to stab him in the heart or sever his very head, as he reached for the axe. Instead of that, the gnarly fingers grabbed the red trinket hanging from his hood, tearing a piece of cloth along with it.

"I got that from my grandmother!" Mechett protested. "You can't possibly –"

The Yuzzum first ignored him. He observed the trinket and even bit it once, to make sure it wouldn't break.

"This is it. Give me your knife, midget!"

"What? How do you know I have a knife?"

"Give me your knife if you want me to spare you!"

Mechett looked down. A true Gondula, he didn't like being this high in a treetop for so long. He reached reluctantly into his pouch and handed the only knife he had to the Yuzzum, who, to his surprise, proceeded to stab himself in the eye. Disgusted, the Ewok looked away, as his enemy pulled out his eyeball and stuck the red trinket in the empty socket.

"W-why would you willingly blind yourself?"

"That is not of your concern, midget. I have been looking for this ever since I read about it in my mistress' scrolls! Your burly friend was an unnecessary distraction and I lost my patience. He had to die. I have already spent years trying to locate this gem. I only regret that I couldn't rip it off your hood before I killed him, because using it would have been much more satisfying than fighting! "

Having heard this, Mechett was feeling as if he had betrayed everybody. There had been warnings that something might have been going on, but he had had no way of communicating them to the Elders. He would have had to reveal his source.

"I can see inside your mind, midget. If that Rango loved you and respected you as much as you claim you loved and respected him, why did you keep your biggest secret from him? And, more importantly, why did he keep his biggest secret from you?"

"Rango had no secrets!"

"That's right. Almost right. So, you knew how much he liked a flower in bloom and how many times he stopped to smell a flower until he found the one that smelled just right. But not all that blooms eventually bears fruit. And when it does…"

"I don't care, stranger! Rango had no secrets! And you're a Yuzzum, you're a nobody! You can't judge him! I know how Yuzzums live!"

"And they do. But I am the purest of the pure!"

"I don't believe in purity!" Mechett was furious.

"You don't believe in anything. A true Gondula right there. It will be so much easier to deal with those head-in-cloud Panshees!" The Yuzzum waved his hand. "You have seen too much! And I need to try and to find the right hosts for this hand you so generously severed from me…as well as this eye!"

The Yuzzum directed his finger at the axe stuck in the branch, which started cutting through the bark. Before he knew it, Mechett was falling through the air. He only just managed to grab the very bottom branch, right above Rango's corpse.

A little later, as dawn was breaking, he marched into the village carrying the body of his dead friend. A female clad in a leather dress came out of the first hut.

"Mechett! I have been waiting for you all night. Are you alright? What has happened to Chief Rango?"

"He's dead, Kerida. Go and tell his wife and son and have somebody inform the Council of Elders. I am not leaving him." Breathing heavily, Mechett sat down next to the corpse.

…

After Rango's funeral, the Council of Elders gathered for an emergency meeting. Mechett was nervous. He was looking at Rango's young son, the only Ewok present who was as small as him, sitting at the end of the table. Clad in a washed-out red hood with no trinkets on it, with an empty belt of honour over the front bib, he looked too fragile to be a warrior apprentice.

"So, Mechett, tell us more about the murderer," the elderly and sickly Head Elder Ooba asked, leaning over the table to the healer.

"It was a Yuzzum. A strange, posessed and very thin Yuzzum…I chased him up a tree, but he took my axe and the trinket from my hood. He then stabbed himself in the eye and replaced his eye with my trinket! But it all started when we saw the crescent."

"You climbed a tree?"

"Chak, I did. The Odd Tree. That is also where that evil creature killed Rango!"

The young heir to the throne started coughing and put his hands over his mouth.

"Toughen up, will you?" one of the other Elders yelled at him. He apologised and swallowed a lump.

"He just lost his father, don't be cruel to him." Mechett's wife approached the boy and hugged him. He hit her.

"Shut up and get out of here, Kerida! Women have no rights in the council. If my mother is not here, why are you?"

As two guards escorted her of the hut, Kerida tried to say something, but one of them placed a hand on her mouth.

"We have to escort his family to a safe place," one of the Council members said once the hut was free of women. "This creature may well be after them!"

"Nonsense." The Ewok who had told the young heir to toughen up slammed his fist against the table. "Mechett is lying."

"What?" the whole Council gasped and the heir started coughing again.

"Where is that hand you're talking about? Show us the severed hand and we will believe you." The loud Elder turned away from Ooba towards Mechett.

"The hand probably disappeared underwater."

"Impossible! That tree is too far away from the water!"

"There were so many puddles and it was still raining when I fell off the tree. The hand could be in any of them, deep in the mud."

Ooba was about to say something, but the one particularly pushy member cut him off again.

"Let's get this straight, Mechett: you have no proof and nobody believes you. You had all the reasons on Endor to get rid of the chief. You already disagreed with him when you got married, despite most shamans remaining pure all their life."

"What you call purity is nonsense and you know it! Purity is a state of mind. Did you meet Keoulkeech from the Red Bush Grove? He has children, just like I do!"

"Red Bush Grove? Those no-good Panshees!" Ooba spit on the hut floor. "I don't care what Panshees are doing!"

The pushy one grinned and continued.

"Rango was easily the most handsome chief we have ever had, and also the most honest one. He was strong, burly and big, with fur dark as the darkest night. You, you are barely taller than his son, who is still a wokling, and your fur looks like you rolled around in turd."

"Am not!" the young one protested, but Ooba shook his fist at him. He was starting to like the pushy warrior.

"Lastly, you knew what he wanted from you, in the unlikely case that anything should happen to him. He wanted you to take over as the chief until the boy is old enough to rule us."

"That much is true." Mechett raised his hand. "And that is because he didn't trust you. I can…I can see why. Nobody respects the boy, either. You're trying to fill his head with anger and I don't…I don't know who is the Head Elder here anymore."

Everybody gasped. Ooba snarled.

"Mechett, I choose to believe my most trusted advisor and I don't see anything wrong with it. Rango trusted you too much and that led him to his demise. You probably wanted to get rid of me and the boy and then rule the village as you please." He paused, then continued. "You killed our leader. Therefore you will be executed."

"I have the right to appeal to the rightful heir to the throne."

"Indeed you do." The loud one looked towards the boy. "The young heir of Arankoo family, do you wish to pardon Mechett, the healer?"

"No. I am not pardoning the one who killed my father. And hereby, I appoint Head Elder Ooba, as my lead advisor until I have completed all the trials."

"This is betrayal!" Mechett cried as the guards tied his hands and legs behind his back with a rope, then hung him from a pole. He was in for the harshest punishment – he would be tied up on the top of the nearby mountain's summit with his arms and legs broken and left to be devoured by whatever beasts find him first. No funeral, no name mentioned in the village's songs of remembrance.

The elders went outside carrying their prisoner. Kerida approached them, but they thrust their spears at her. Behind them she managed to see her husband's face for one last time. She looked at Mechett and realised he was trying to tell her something.

"Take the children and run to the forest and head to the other side," she read from his lips. "Don't ask me anything." Ooba walked to her slowly, the boy standing next to him.

"Kerida, he is going to be staked out and punished. Rango's only son is to break his legs. As his wife, you can choose to be present or not."

"I don't want to witness that. Neither do I want our children to be there."

"In that case, go home. We will discuss your fate once we determine if you were involved."

"If I was involved in…what exactly?"

"Shut up!" the boy yelled, spitting in Kerida's face. He reached out to hit her, but Ooba grabbed his hands.

Further away, the advisor to the Head Elder called the two guards over to him.

"Everything is going the way it should. The boy is not going to be a problem. He lives and breathes hate."

"And Ooba?" The taller guard with a bird skull on top of his head was suspicious.

"Ooba is a ninety-snows-old lurdo who does not remember what he ate earlier in the day. If he died tonight, that would be suspicious. If he dies in one moon, however…we can accept that his flame burnt out."

"How about Kerida and her two brats?" The shorter guard with an eye patch reminded the advisor.

"I am almost certain that they will leave the village tonight. In a day or two, we will go after them. Once we find them, we'll deal with them."

"With Ooba around? He will quickly turn the boy against us!"

"What he does not know cannot hurt him. We will say that we're going hunting and that will give us plenty of time to come up with a good story. That crescent Mechett talked about is interesting."

"For many moons one of his brats was drawing lines in the sand and carving them in the hut wall. The last time I saw it, the line did resemble a crescent."

The advisor was puzzled.

"Hmm, that one needs to be kept alive, then. After having been frightened for life, of course. There must be some rumours we can benefit from in this case."

The guard with the eye patch clapped his hands.

"The things my daughter has been telling me recently, about that very one of Mechett's brats…could be useful."

"Tell me all about it, then."


	3. A Hero Like Me

**_Near Bright Tree Village, Happy Grove circa 3.5 ABY_**

The warrior circle was meeting in the Land of Dandelion Warriors, a seemingly abandoned meadow peppered with stray urchins. They wandered away from their side of the forest for the first time since the Sunstar had been destroyed; after the Skull Ones had chased the Duloks away from their swamp and started building an Evil Lair for themselves. It was an arid summer day, reminiscent of the times of the great forest fire three snows ago.

"Scout Gwig!" Tippet yelled at a blue-hooded wokling, who nodded before even knowing what he was about to be ordered to do. "Put a leather robe on and go search for star urchin quills. Master Logray may need them for his antidotes and potions. They once saved the life of one Deej Warrick. Wunka! Go help the wokling out...gather all the regular quills in a barrel. They will come in handy on the bottom of our new traps for the Skull Ones."

"Do I get a leather robe, too?"

"No."

Wunka mumbled a barely audible "k'vark". After the Council of Elders determined that he had willingly exposed three young Ewoks to danger and refused to listen to other hunters' warnings about a witch of the Night Spirit; he was sentenced to six whole moons of life as a plain scout. He looked at Romba; the small, light-furred Ewok who filled his old position and snarled in anger. Romba just waved to him, assuming that his fellow warrior was smiling.

"He thinks he'll make up for his height with his agility." Wunka continued talking to himself, while Gwig had already started searching through the quills. "That's not going to happen. Neither with him, nor that youngest Warrick...where the Night Spirit is that fleebog of a wokling, anyway?"

Gwig somehow managed to hear the last thing Wunka said and immediately ran to Tippet.

"Master Tippet! Master Tippet! Wicket Warrick is not here!"

Tippet glanced at the warriors preparing the terrain for target practice. He failed to spot any of the Warricks, not just Wicket. He did not see the infamous gurreck skull headdress either – Teebo, hero of the Griagh assault and the carrier of the Sacred Horn of the Soul Trees was missing as well. He shook his head and headed to Chief Chirpa's nephew.

"Paploo, where are your friends today?"

"The Warricks are preparing to leave to the enclave. Weechee, Widdle and Wicket couldn't have been here; they need to help their parents with the cattle and luggage. And Teebo...I don't know. He's got a lot to do these days – the Council of Elders appointed him as the Voice of the Young Ones; Master Logray needs him as well. He could be anywhere."

"Good for him, then. But if you see him, remind him that his warrior duties should come first. His powers are certainly helping him with handling the axe, he is good on the glider like his father, but he is notoriously bad with everything else and needs a lot of practice...not to mention discipline."

Tippet adjusted his hood and called the young scout over again.

"Gwig?"

"Chak, Master Tippet?"

"After you're done finding those star urchin quills, go back to the village and find Orbo, the bordok stable cleaner. Tell him that I sent you to get the droppings out of the hay today...and tomorrow."

"B-but, Master Tippet! I have a play date with my friend, M…"

"It's not nice to tell on other people. Now run along!"

...

Teebo was not that far away. He was enjoying some quiet time with his girlfriend, Latara. Hunched on the edge of the cliff, he was running his hands through the white blossoms he struggled to keep in bloom beyond the flower season by use of nature powers.

Needless to say, Latara loved those little flowers.

The two had been together for only a couple of moons, but loved each other for many snows before. Knowing that a storm was inevitable, despite their numerous obligations, they were doing whatever it took to see each other, at their secret place, every morning and evening.

"Do you like my new song, Teebo?" Latara asked. "Teebo? Are you even listening?"

"I am, I am…just let me focus on something for a moment. I almost made it!"

Teebo placed his thumbs on his head, right below his ears. He closed his eyes, started grinding his teeth and took a deep breath. Latara smirked and looked to the hills and mountains barely visible in the distance, as her boyfriend was now mumbling something in the language of magic.

He opened his eyes. The flowers before him were no longer white. Some of them seemed almost translucent, fog-like, while the others were of various shades of pink and red.

"T-this is not what I wanted to do!" he thought to himself. "I wanted to make some of them violet and grey…and write her name with those. K'vark! Time for the other plan…"

Latara shrugged, took her flute and played her new song, again. Just as she was finishing it, she felt a flower wreath find its way to her neck. She turned around to see Teebo kneeling behind her and smiling. He then took her hand to kiss it.

"So, that's what he was doing!" she thought to herself and placed his hand on her chest.

"Listen to my heart beating."

After a couple of seconds of giving her a blank, terrified stare, he pulled his hand out, as if she was on fire.

"I-I'm sorry!"

"He is sorry?" Latara thought. "I want to be touched there; I want his six fingers all over me. We have been together since the snows have melted. Why is this still a problem?"

She lay on her boyfriend's lap. The smell of the colourful flowers still lingered. Wrapping the stray end of the wreath around her finger, she was quiet for a while. Then she sighed, snuggled up to him and presented him with what appeared to be a riddle.

"Arandee, Teebo…something has been on my mind for a while." She turned her head and looked straight into his eyes. "What is love? I more or less have an idea on how to define it, how about you?"

"That is one tricky question, isn't it? Can you tell me what you think it is first?"

Latara was confused. Her boyfriend was never the kind to respond to a question with another question. Nevertheless, she had an answer ready.

"Love is certainly more than just words. After everything that has happened, I'm pretty sure that love is also much more than…racing for the light spirit stuff the way warrior apprentices race for their belts of honour."

"Funny that you said that, as, while lying blind and motionless for nearly three moons, I realised we're more than colours and shapes, and that the light spirit stuff isn't bad…"

Latara grinned, as her eyes lit up. But Teebo continued.

"...at some point. When it's not planned, expected. When your feelings for somebody are so clear that they can feel what you feel."

Her grin first turned into a frown, and then she pouted, clenched the flower wreath in her fist and tossed a handful of flowers in Teebo's face, sticking her tongue out at him. He frowned, unsure what to make of it and whether to try and re-assemble the wreath using his magic.

"What did I do?"

"You lurdo! I thought you meant that you want to be like Master Logray or something!" she whispered and turned around to face him, playfully reaching for his teeth necklace.

"Like Master Logray? In what exact way? I already have an animal skull on my head, but what else?"

He was puzzled. They kissed for a while and then, as usual, took to their gliders and went separate ways, in order not to return to the village at the same time.

...

Wicket was still sitting on his hammock, not pleased about having to leave to the enclave. The more he thought about it, the more he noticed that he had not been happy about anything recently.

How could a hero like him be so jaded, all of a sudden? How could he feel the way he had been feeling for almost one whole moon now? What had suddenly happened and why did everything have to change with the arrival of the Skull Ones and their awful fire sticks?

For a couple of moons, everything was perfect - he was a newly-initiated warrior, he was training with the older, more experienced Ewoks and two of his best friends. And then, just out of the blue, everything crashed to the ground, like an unexpected landslide.

He was completely sure that he could never respect, let alone love a tall, hairless being like those whom the village now feared. Not even one of their woklings, whatever they looked like. They were so evil, so sly, that even the vilest of Duloks seemed harmless in comparison.

In front of the hut, his mother was saying goodbye to her friends.

"Don't worry, Shodu. We will be checking your home every couple of days." Zephee patted her friend on the back. Bozzie and Batcheela nodded.

"Chak, we will make sure we check for bugs and pests every now and then."

Shodu smiled and looked away. Having married a Warrick and given birth to four children, she always had a lot on her plate. But this time it was more than she ever thought she would be able to handle. Her reckless firstborn and her adventure-hungry husband had been chosen to lead a small group of families to an enclave about a half day's walk from the village, to the south. This enclave was the brainchild of master Logray, who had determined that a group of settlers would be useful for warning the village of whatever Skull Ones were up to and, at the same time, producing additional crops, in case somebody poisoned the village's principal fields and orchards.

And nobody asked her, Shodu Warrick, if she even liked the sound of that. Nobody was asking anybody if they liked anything these days.

Deej Warrick was waiting for his family, leaning on the bordok cart on the main stairway. He had said goodbye to Chief Chirpa and his daughters earlier that day and he was ready to go. Little Winda was pulling the front end of his hood and giggling, causing him to be even more impatient. What was taking his sons and his wife so long?

Then he spotted his pride, the three young warriors. The oldest and the middle were carrying a crudely-carved piece of a tree trunk and the youngest one trailed behind them, dragging his small feet and carrying only a single box. Then he got in his brothers' way.

"Hurry up, everybody! We are not leaving for good, remember?"

"I know, dad!" Widdle stopped for a moment to catch a breath. "But we are having problems with Winda's crib. It's too heavy!"

Only then did Deej spot his youngest son. When did that little rascal become invisible?

"Wicket, what are you doing? Why are you staring at that wooden box? We need your help here!"

"He's not even letting us pass." Weechee protested. "Wicket, what is wrong with you? Lurdo!"

Wicket shrugged and finally moved out of the way, completely ignoring his brothers and the crib. Once they all were on the forest floor, he spotted somebody running behind him, all the way from the glider launch and landing site.

"Hey, Wicket! W-wait up!"

Teebo arrived just in time to see his best friend leave. Seconds before he reached Wicket, he somehow managed to trip on his own feet. He got up and grinned. Wicket gave him a blank stare.

"I'm sorry; the wind was not the best this morning. So glad you didn't leave in the meantime."

"No, you're not sorry." Wicket thought. "You will never care about me again now that you have your girlfriend." He was close to saying it all out loud, having noticed pink flower petals on his friend's fur. But he had matured enough to bite his tongue.

"You smell really nice today." He said and picked a petal off Teebo's dark striped fur. "Like a true warrior."

"I don't understand what you mean. I ran like the Gorge of Fire to say goodbye. So…goodbye. Hope this won't last long." Teebo was close to tears. He reached out to shake hands with his friend.

"Goodbye, chak…" Wicket placed the wooden box in Teebo's hand. "Please, keep this safe. I wouldn't want Malani to open it and giggle about my…secrets."

"I don't think she is into you anymore...but I may be wrong. I can't wait for this, whatever it is, to end, so we could go fishing or camping like we used to."

"No, you don't."

"I…do?!" Teebo scratched his head.

"Wicket, hurry up, will you?" Weechee stood in front of the bordok cart, with Deej, Shodu, Widdle and Winda already inside. "You will have plenty of time to talk to Teebo when we're back!"

"I'm sorry for keeping your family from leaving!" Teebo picked Wicket up and hugged him and then awkwardly placed him on the front cart seat, next to Weechee. "And I hope you will find friends to spend the time with at the enclave. I will be missing you, my friend."

Warricks' cart was slowly catching up with three other carts in the distance. Teebo looked on until it disappeared from sight and then climbed back to the village, solely to see Latara, Paploo and Kneesaa waiting for him. Paploo was laughing.

"Did you just…carry Wicket to the cart? How romantic." He rolled his eyes.

"Paploo, you smell of bordok droppings." Latara sniffed the air. "With whom exactly did _you_ get romantic?"

"Arandee, it's not my fault that wokling scout sent out to bring me back was stinky, but he didn't really have to pull me by hand. At least I don't smell of flowers." Paploo batted his eyes at Teebo again.

"T'hesh, will you? Stop arguing, there was a good reason I sent scouts for you!"

The three Ewoks turned to Kneesaa, who put her hand over her mouth, apparently surprised by her own yelling. Then she realised she was tapping her foot and quickly took a step back.

"My father wants to see the four of us. Immediately. He didn't want to disclose anything…not even to me."

"I think we're in trouble…"

The four friends headed to the Royal Hut.


	4. The Chosen Four

Chief Chirpa was observing the four adolescent Ewoks, sitting in silence at the large, two hundred snows old dining table in the Royal Hut's largest chamber. He had rehearsed everything he was to tell them, but once they arrived, he was lost for words. With light coming through the rounded window from high above the treetops and landing on the young ones' fur, they suddenly seemed so different. Were they actually younger in the dark? And when on Endor did they change so much?

Over the last couple of snows, Kneesaa had been slowly losing the childish streak he loved, something he never got to enjoy with his older daughter. Each time he looked at her, she seemed worried, and there were a couple of occasions where he could swear by the Great Tree that she called him "dad" and not "father".

His flamboyant nephew Paploo, sitting next to Kneesaa, was getting more and more unpredictable with every single season that passed by and every single task put in front of him. There were the times when he truly looked like somebody who would put both himself and others in danger, or do something incredibly outrageous - for no reason other than showing off and competing with other warriors.

And then there was Teebo, Paploo's polar opposite, once upon a time a foolish creature with his head in clouds and appearance so delicate that it was hard to tell if he was male or female. Now, with a gurreck skull headdress and dark striped fur, his once calm green eyes almost looked menacing.

The last in line was Latara, one of his daughter's friends that he was never truly able to see through and figure out. He knew that some of the members of the Council of Elders, including the Head Elder Kazak himself, were using harsh words to describe her and that Bozzie once called her "Trouble", but other than that, she was a mystery.

For the first time since his warrior apprentice days at the very end of the Ewok-Dulok wars, the leader of the tribe had started to doubt himself.

Were these four young Ewoks truly ready for what he needed them to do?

Having forgotten what his approach was supposed to sound like, Chirpa put his elbows on the table and asked only one, simple question.

"So, why do you think you're here?"

To his surprise, all four seemed apologetic and panicked.

Teebo got up and stuttered his apology first.

"I am sorry that I did not attend the warrior meeting this morning. If anybody has seen me with Latara earlier…I had to ch-check on a lantern bird nest…and she offered to accompany me."

"Chak, chak! Mistress Fashkaa didn't need me so early today." Latara nodded, taking her boyfriend's hand. "After the Hood Festival was relocated to the main square, there were a lot of things we simply didn't have to make anymore."

"Arandee, uncle. No matter what Salina says, I did not wink at her and I most certainly did not attempt to slap her behind!" Paploo grinned and crossed his fingers behind his back, while awkwardly waving with the other hand.

"Was there a Council of Elder meeting I was supposed to be at, d…father?" Kneesaa seemed to be genuinely surprised by what she could have done wrong. "I've been so preoccupied with the scrolls about the past of our village these days, that I just…"

Chirpa shook his head and started drawing imaginary circles on the table with his big finger. He was not Kazak to enjoy the fear of the four adolescents admitting they have done something wrong, with nobody even asking them about it. He expected more confidence, more responsibility. This was not what he was looking for, but he had no other choice. He had to carry on with his plan.

"The four of you showed great bravery during the Griagh assault. While I awarded only one at the ceremony" - he pointed to Teebo's horn - "this in no way means that the other three did not deserve any honours. Most importantly, you have proven that you are fully adult and capable of making right decisions when it matters."

"Father, what does that mean?" Kneesaa was confused.

"At this point, I would be inclined to say 'apparently, nothing', since you all just admitted to breaking rules. And you were taught the rules for behaviour in case of imminent danger - long before you begun your apprenticeships. Always put your village before everything else. Report to your Master every morning. Do not miss any events important for your group."

"I didn't break any of these!" Paploo protested.

Latara giggled and leaned on the wall behind her. "You broke pretty much all other rules in existence!"

"Silence!" Chirpa clapped his hands. "I have a task for you. "Logray and I will give you maps indicating nearly all settlements on our side of Endor, all the way to the north most edge of the Symoom desert. You will travel to each and every one of them and let the inhabitants know what is going on. Tell them that the plague of the Skull Ones is upon us and that the dark days from Logray's visions have arrived. Teach them how to defend themselves."

"Together?"

"Yes, together. Two males, two females. My daughter will act on my behalf and do her best to represent the royal family of the Bright Tree Village. While I don't like the fact that we are separating, this will be an experience she would have had to gain, sooner or later."

"Paploo and Teebo, you will demonstrate all you have learned so far, as warriors. Also, you have to be very careful when it comes to magic. A whole tribe of Tulgah has been taken into slavery by the Skull Ones, for the sole reason of being magical. You must not reveal that you know magic."

"But I don't know it either way, uncle."

"He's talking about me."

"That is right, Teebo. You still have a gift and, given what has been going on recently, you might want to keep it for yourself."

"But…I need my magic. I am a shaman, first and foremost."

"When you kneeled before me and accepted the Sacred Horn of the Soul Trees, you made a promise to serve the village in times of need. I allowed you to bypass the warrior apprentice status because, frankly, we needed a large spearman, confident with leading scout. And then Tippet reports that you cannot seem to be able to handle a spear without magic. What is that about? Remember what Logray once told you – rely on yourself first."

Teebo wanted to respond to that, but Chirpa turned to Latara.

"How is your shoulder wound these days? Has it healed?"

"Chak, my chief. It only hurts when I'm...never mind." She grinned.

"Your responsibility will be to take the fire sticks with you and show other beings how to handle them. We have recently taken down a dozen of Skull Ones and got more. You can show them how to aim, but also how to escape when the red fire comes out."

"What about the little lever on the side? I pushed it four times when I used it, but…"

"Tak accidentally pushed it only three times in practice and somehow managed to stun himself for a while. I guess it may come in handy, but – for the love of the Soul Trees – make sure you are not aiming at yourself. Also, the fire sticks seem to die after some time. I think they are alive. Now, if we only knew how they bred…"

The group was silent for a while. They all seemed surprised. Eventually, Kneesaa spoke.

"Do we have to do anything before we leave, father?"

"Nothing. Master Logray will prepare the scrolls, as well as any possible repellent, remedy and cure you may need on your way. Talk to your parents." – Chirpa looked at Teebo and Latara and then turned to Paploo – "I already spoke to Bozzie, she was honoured."

"Didn't dad die like this? During a mission, before I was even born?"

"We will talk about that some other time."

Paploo let a barely audible snarl and, once he saw his uncle's back, kicked the nearby empty chair. He kicked it too hard and the next moment, he squeaked from pain. Luckily, Latara was not looking at him this time; otherwise she would've had a clever remark about his misfortune once again. He rolled his eyes and tried to keep calm.

"You are to leave in two days."

"Two days? But...but the Hood Festival!" Latara frowned. "This was the first time I was involved with it. Now I won't get to see the woklings' reaction!"

"Chak, not to mention countless opportunities for..."

"Paploo!" Kneesaa gasped. "What demon has gotten into you these days?"

"Sometimes, one has to sacrifice the little pleasures for a greater cause." Chirpa put an end to the discussion. "You are free to go now. I still have to tell the Council about my decision, but your presence is not required. In fact, you will save yourselves from pulling your own fur if you're not present." He turned to his daughter. "Kneesaa, you are coming with me."

The princess swallowed a lump. The meetings would often to last until dawn and were full of arguments, most of them initiated by Head Elder Kazak and a couple of other Elders.

...

Teebo was heading home, carrying a bunch of scrolls from the observatory. He was passing by the supply hut and remembered that his parents asked him to bring back some fruit. Just as he was about to get in, somebody pushed him and closed the bolted door behind both of them. He turned around, expecting another one of Paploo's common pranks.

But it was not Paploo. Standing there was Paploo's mother, Bozzie. And she looked worried.

"You must help me!" She pulled him by his chest fur, nearly weeping. "Help me, Teebo, you are my only hope!"

"I would be glad to, but how? And why the secrecy?"

"I am so worried that my baby Paploo will make the same stupid mistake!"

At this point, Teebo dropped all of the scrolls on the floor and Bozzie's grasp was so tight that he feared she would pull a handful of fur from his chest...and she knew how long it took to grow.

"Same as who?" He asked her. "When? What do you think he is going to do?"

"You have access to Logray's scrolls. I have two handfuls of dangleberry seeds. You are going to make a batch of Blue Fire juice and slip it into his food once a day, throughout the expedition."

"What is Blue Fire?"

"I am not good with medicine, but it's rumoured that a man drinking it cannot father a child. And I know young ones. I know them all too well. They are looking for challenges the moment they step their foot out of the Happy Grove! I don't want my baby to be somebody's deadbeat father and not know it!"

Teebo nearly chuckled. The tone Bozzie spoke in was ranging from cringeworthy to downright bizarre, yet she looked genuinely worried. It was hard not to laugh.

"He wants women and I know he will find at least one on this trip! I am concerned...why doesn't he just look up to you and just wait until the day his and his wife's Soul Tree saplings burn together?"

"But, Bozzie, I am..."

"I know! You are the most wonderful young man I know." She finally let him go and placed a slobbery kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for doing this for me!"

Seemingly happy, Bozzie dashed out of the supply hut. Teebo shrugged at his own shadow on the wall, then thanked the Great Tree for not having a mother like Bozzie.

And then, not even knowing why exactly, he burst out laughing, in the middle of gathering the scrolls from the floor.

…

Kneesaa's fears proved to be completely justified. The sun had set long ago and the Council of Elders meeting was still going on. While she was doing her best to understand her irresponsible friends, who were constantly baiting each other, she had little to no understanding for the Elders. The youngest among them was seventy snows old, the oldest around two hundred. They had no excuses to act like woklings.

As usual, the one making every single thing hard and talking more than everybody else combined was Kazak, the Head Elder.

"So, let me clarify this again, Chief Chirpa. We are surrounded by the Skull Ones, we need messengers to get help and warn other villages and you have chosen your daughter, your nephew and two of their friends...out of all Ewoks?"

Chirpa sighed. His loudest critic had asked the same question four times already.

"I am sure, Kazak. If this does not convince you that the future chieftess is sitting right next to me, nothing will. And I know you have nothing against my nephew, Paploo. So, what is the problem?"

"The warrior circle is turning into a wokling nursery. First it was the youngest of the Warricks, despite his height, and now it's that clumsy, overgrown apprentice of Logray's. What good can he bring to a mission? He could not capture a titterbug. He is not capable of…of…taking care of a drawing of a chicken, let alone an actual chicken! And he is your chosen Voice of the Young Ones, yet he is not here!"

"I told him not to come to this meeting. I sent him to find the maps instead. He does not have much time to copy them, therefore..."

"He would have had enough time had he been paying attention to his obligations. We are not impresed." Kazak seemed to be running out of things to say. "Arandee...why is Paploo going on this mission, when we need him here?"

"No, we don't!" Chirpa was losing patience at this point. "He almost always goes on missions with Weechee, Widdle and Wicket Warrick, who have departed to the enclave this morning. His three new comrades took part in the latest pilgrimage to the Tree of Light nearly three snows ago, therefore, they know what to expect from him."

The great leader turned to Rabin, who nodded and got up.

"Kazak, at this point, we should give the foursome a try and see what happens. Think of this from a point of a view that suits you: you dislike and doubt them, they won't annoy you while they're gone."

"And perhaps they will never come back." Kazak thought to himself. He observed everybody present. Some members of the Council were already falling asleep. Princess Kneesaa swallowed a lump and turned away when she realised he was looking at her. In contrast to his daughter's timid glance, Chirpa's remained focused and confident. No matter how many times he had tried so in the past, the Head Elder was not able to break him.

Finally, he banged his hammer. "Wise words, Rabin, as far as I'm concerned. Shall we vote? Who is in favour of Kneesaa, Paploo, Latara and Teebo taking this mission?"

Everybody raised their hands. A couple of Elders were sporting beaming grins.

"I'm guessing this is a chak, huh, Kazak?" Chirpa's eyes shifted to the Head Elder.

"Well...chak."

"Great. I need to sleep. I want to spend tomorrow bonding with my daughter and you have wasted a lot of my time."


	5. Departure

The next day, four young Ewoks spent some time bonding with their families. Bozzie's suggestion of having a meal together was cut short by the fact that almost everything she wanted to serve was rotten, spoiled or dried out. She barely managed to save some bits of vegetables for one last warm stew for her son to gulp before the mission.

"I wish there was ice in the summer." She looked to Paploo, who was preparing his who was preparing the new backpack he had just gotten from Fashkaa, the head hoodmaker. "Some way to keep things from spoiling when you're NOT keeping them in the supply hut. Why doesn't Logray invent something like that already?"

There was no response.

"Paploo, my baby! Are you even listening to your mother?"

"I'm sorry...what was the last thing you said?" He shrugged.

Bozzie shook her head. She had a whole speech ready, the same she had been repeating in her head, over the years. She was close to telling Paploo something that only she and her brother knew, something the royal family of the Bright Tree Village made sure to hide over the years. But there he was, playing with his slingshot and laughing at the names of some villages listed on a piece of parchment, just like he would have two, five or seven snows ago. Perhaps the time wasn't right. But when would it be?

Seemingly, a part of her just wanted to shout it all out. Twenty snows of living a lie was too much.

...

The group assembled on the main square at dawn. Nobody besides their families, Chief Chirpa and Master Logray seemed to be interested in saying goodbye to them, not even Head Elder Kazak.

Kneesaa was hiding her face in the mane of her beloved bordok, Baga, so that her three comrades would not realise how worried she was. She was trying to understand the reasons for everybody's lack of support for the mission. The morning was the only time when the heat would subside, so perhaps the villagers just wanted to catch some sleep? Or were they scared? If so, of what? The Sunstar had been destroyed almost one moon ago, but since the Skull Ones did not burn the forest down and take everybody away, the Golden One must have answered Logray's prayers. Was this the time when her people were questioning their beliefs?

"I'll be missing you." She ran her fingers through Baga's silky mane. The bordok neighed and rubbed his head against her chest. "But Father and Aunt Bozzie will take good care of you while I'm gone. Just try not to be too much trouble, please!"

A couple of steps away, Lumat was staring at the tiny wooden flask hanging from Teebo's neck. His daughter's lover seemed to be doing all he could for their eyes not to meet and that was becoming slightly unnerving. The carpenter pulled his wife's hand, annoyed.

"Zephee, do you see that thing he's wearing, among the gurreck teeth on his necklace?"

"Chak, I assume it's some sort of an antidote, so he doesn't have to reach for his pouch and backpack."

"No, it's not. Didn't you do anything crazy before you met me?" He shook his fist. "I knew Logray was an old fool, but if he really, really gave that lurdo dream herbs essence, then he deserves to be..."

"I did not give my apprentice any dream herbs." Logray spoke from behind Lumat and Zephee. "The young ones are not summoning spirits and dancing to the moon, they're letting others know about the great danger. But you, you could use some dream herbs tonight. You seem to be missing them a lot...and you sound and look like you have not slept for a good few days."

Lumat grumbled something unintelligible. Logray was trying his best not to laugh. He had stayed up all night himself, preparing remedies and trying to trace any other shaman he knew of with his crystal image spinner. But his Tulgah friends from the seaside were not responding, and neither was Gordo, the Gupin colony healer. The latter was more of a concern, since Logray knew that the Gupin fortress was probably one of the safest places of Endor.

"Young ones. I have given Kneesaa the most accurate map of settlements and I have listed all the places in the most convenient order for visiting them. However, I would like you to head to the Grasslands and check on Gupins first. It's been a long time since I have heard from my friend Gordo and I am aware that you're friends with King Mring-Mring, so you should be welcome there."

"We will do as you requested, Master." Kneesaa pointed to the map. "And the Gupins will probably spare a hut for us, so we won't have to sleep in the open. I can't wait to see Mring-Mring and Ubel!"

The other three young Ewoks nodded. It was time for the parents and siblings to say goodbye to them. Mothers and fathers were doing their best to look as if they were not the slightest bit worried. The woklings had a mixed reaction. Wiley and Nippet were cheerful and somewhat glad that their older sister would not interfere with their mischief for a while. Malani, however, was old enough to realise the importance of her brother's responsibilities. She looked on as her father Warok, the last to approach the group, stepped ahead.

"Teebo, wait." Warok stopped his son.

"What is wrong, dad?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering if there was anything else you might have wanted to ask me, anything you forgot?"

Teebo put his backpack on the ground for a moment and gave his father a blank stare.

"Actually, there is one thing; I am not sure how you will take it...I am slightly bothered by it and, you know, uncomfortable."

"Chak?" Warok was barely able to stop a huge grin from appearing on his face. "Go on, ask your daddy!"

"Can you put Wicket's wooden box of memories somewhere where Malani won't be able to reach it? I know she is all giddy about that little scout trainee now, but I would not want her to snoop through my best friend's secrets, whatever they may be."

"And that is what you wanted to ask me?" Warok's broad grin was turning into a frown.

"Chak, just that. And please, don't touch that box yourself, either. Wicket's keepsakes are sacred to me."

Teebo patted his father on the back and joined the group of friends waiting for him on the stairway. Paploo, Latara and Kneesaa turned around and waved once again. Asha looked on, proud of her younger sister, and then followed Chief Chirpa back to the Royal Hut.

"Daughter…" He turned around. "I would like you to accompany me to the Council meetings while your sister is away. Would that be convenient for you?"

"You know I train scouts during meeting time…" She took a step back, as if their home was someplace else.

"Please. I need somebody strong to help me with the Elders. They barely approved this and now would be the worst possible moment for any disagreements to occur. We don't want to end up like that Gondula village that cut off its ties with pretty much every single Ewok settlement on Endor."

"Who are they?"

"I don't know. Bondo of the Jindas said they were the only crowd his entertainers could never perform for. Mind you, they performed for Gorneesh's Duloks some moons before you returned home."

Asha shrugged and followed her father. The sun was rising and they were getting hungry.


	6. In The Shadows

The four young Ewoks made their way alongside the river, towards the Endorian Grasslands. This time, they decided not to travel in a canoe, since they knew about the waterfall that almost cost them their lives some snows ago. Paploo clearly remembered the strong currents that swept his paddle away back then and he hoped that nobody else did, but a snarky comment from Teebo, of all Ewoks, proved otherwise.

"Is everything all right, oh King Paploo?"

Paploo wished he had the said paddle handy. Why was Teebo accentuating his name like that and calling him that, after such a long time? Whatever had happened to this lurdo ever since he finally got together with Latara was confusing to him. He was suddenly full of confidence and more likely to hang around with those that should have been hanging out with him, the great Paploo, the most fearless of the fearless. On top of it, Teebo seemed slightly less awkward, which was not much knowing exactly how awkward he had been all his life, but still incredibly annoying.

What was he to say when teased by such a ruthless faction-crossing social climber? Had Teebo still been the tiny Ewok who was so often mistaken for a girl by the older villagers, it would have been so much easier. A pat on the back strong enough to make him fall down, a mocking comment about how cute he was, would have solved everything. But now, the little lurdo was too big – he would easily beat him in a fight!

Perhaps, this time, he had to resort to…words.

"That was not particularly nice of you." He managed to say, almost surprised that such a tactful sentence came out of his mouth. To his surprise, Teebo patted him on the back, but not in the way he would have patted Teebo some snows ago – he didn't actually _hurt_ him.

"I was joking. I'm sorry if that upset you." Teebo tried to smile, but each time he did after what happened in that strange lair, he looked threatening. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Are you performing one of your stupid magic tricks on me?" Paploo looked the other way, vaguely remembering that his friend could, in theory, look at others and make them say what he wanted them to say. "Am I supposed to accept what you just said as the truth?"

Latara stepped forward. "Paploo, cut it out."

"Why don't you tell your boyfriend to cut it out? He started it!"

"Maybe, but you took it too far and we…" She stopped for a moment, which was unusual for her. "…we are not obliged to put up with your _sad little beetroot_ and what it has to say."

What, just what did she say? How dare she? His beetroot was absolutely not sad and definitely not little, either! And it was not talking…if it did, it would never want to talk to _her_!

"Says who? The Bright Tree Village's future bordok cart?"

Chak, she should have known better. Similar arguments on her very first expedition almost cost the whole tribe all of its young and capable warriors. But he should have known better, too; he was so much more reasonable this last snow. Had he been especially annoying during the reign of the Sun King or did it just seem that way? And she was so _not_ the bordok cart– for her it was always about getting Teebo and keeping him, whatever it took, even when she didn't want to admit it. It wasn't as though she had _offered_ anything to anybody ever! So, how dare Paploo imply that?

"Something is rustling in the bushes." Kneesaa waved her hands to the other three, but nobody seemed to be listening to her. Latara was patting her firestick in its harness, almost as if she was threatening Paploo. Teebo just stood there, with a confused expression on his face, apparently unsure of what he had done in the first place. Why were they all such lurdos sometimes? Why was she the only responsible one?

And then, there was a lot of noise out of nowhere.

"Danvey!" Kneesaa yelled and pulled Paploo so hard by the bib of his hood that a piece remained between her fingers. Teebo followed and pushed Latara down, narrowly escaping what seemed to be an unexpected flash of red light. Another one followed and he extended his hand to stop it. He was almost surprised at what he did, as if it had been a natural reflex.

The Skull One facing Teebo stopped shooting for a moment, then spoke in a voice that reminded the group of their _dro-heed_ friend, Peedee.

"You are not going to believe what I just found! I am going to need…"

"Latara, what are you doing?" Kneesaa was almost screaming by now. "Fire at that horrible creature!"

"I'm about to! I need to remember what to do with the firestick to make the creature pass out and not kill it…but what on Endor is Teebo thinking?"

Seconds later, the Skull One fell down with a scream, dropping his firestick. Paploo gasped and bit his tongue, not wanting anybody to have heard him do such an _unmanly_ thing. The whole group then came closer.

"I…I did not fire." Latara was puzzled, almost dropping her firestick. From behind her, Teebo poked the lean body in the dry grass with the tip of his spear. It did not seem to be responding. He poked it again and, just then, found a bolo sling around the Skull One's neck.

"Somebody strangled the evil one!" he said.

Kneesaa swallowed a lump, realising that a somewhat larger shadow was behind her.

The four Ewoks turned around to see a Dulok in rags that reminded them of those worn by the creatures that seemed to be in command of the Skull Ones – all grey, with some red. He also had a nose ring. Latara snarled and pointed her firestick to the stranger.

"Do not fire!" Paploo nearly hit her on the wrist. "I know this one…he lay down his arms in the Battle of the Gorax King last snow season! He is the only Dulok I ever liked."

"Yes, that's me." The Dulok nodded and approached the corpse to take back his bolo slings. "I used to call myself a warlord and now…I would rather forget that I ever had a title of any kind. Just call me Kaalwar."

Kaalwar observed the group for about a minute, not saying anything. The fierce girl stopped snarling and put her firestick down, at last. The stockier male and the other girl seemed to be friendly, but the fourth Ewok, the one who had stopped the red fire with his three bare fingers, looked for a moment as if he was about to pass out. Seconds later, he was clinging to the fierce girl.

"And you, you sounded the battle cry in that last battle." Kaalwar continued his conversation with Paploo. "At least I hope it was the last battle. All our battles of the past were futile. So many of my people died, so many of your people died. For nothing. And we failed to see what was coming."

"A-are you sure you are a swamp…I mean, Dulok?" Teebo finally said something. "You don't sound like one."

Kaalwar was not sure what to say next, having realised that the Ewok who just addressed him was, very likely, the one whom and whose father he and Patrash wanted revenge against.

Just then, another voice emerged from the strangled Skull One's headdress.

"What just happened, TK-616? What are those funny screeching noises? What did you want to alert us about…"

"Evil spirits!" Latara screamed. The strange voice disappeared, as she started manically shooting into the body with both firesticks. To everybody else's surprise, Kaalwar rushed to stop her.

"That was not wise of you," he said, taking away the second firestick from Latara. "You shoot like one of them, but you…you don't know what I know. We have to get away from here, now. I will explain later."

"This is not one of those Dulok traps, isn't it?" Teebo, who had calmed down a bit stared straight into Kaalwar's eyes as he spoke.

"No, it's not. Just follow me, we have to get under the waterfall." The Dulok pointed towards the cliff overlooking the southern edge of Endorian Grasslands. "Now. That's my hiding place!"

Latara shrugged and followed Kaalwar. The others hesitated for a moment, but eventually joined the two. Teebo was dragging his feet behind Paploo and Kneesaa, his right hand on the stone axe until they got into the Dulok's hideout. The last time he trusted a Dulok with a firestick, he was almost eaten by the Griagh, so why would this one be any different?

The three-chamber cave was notably colder than outside, so the group was not surprised to see a fire pit. They sat down – Latara and Paploo next to their unlikely rescuer, Kneesaa closer to the back chambers and Teebo behind the other three, still avoiding the Dulok's gaze as much as was possible in such a small space.

"You! You almost got us all killed!" Kaalwar pointed to Latara. His Ewokese was rusty, as well as muffled by his pointy teeth, but they could still understand him. "If it hadn't been for me, a dozen of them would have come out after you blasted their special crystal!"

"She is sorry about that." Kneesaa reached out and offered her hand to Kaalwar, knowing that her friend was not likely to admit she was wrong, especially not after the recent confrontation with Paploo. "What kind of a special crystal was that?"

"Is it anything like the crystal image spinner?" Teebo asked from the shadow.

"Chak and no. These Skull Ones, they have crystals in these…skulls on top of their heads, somewhere closer to their necks. The grey ones, like the one I stole my new vest from, they have small ones and those are pretty, like gems. You speak to those gems and they speak to you. But sometimes, after one has spoken to the crystals, more Skull Ones arrive! They may or may not summon the evil, one never knows! It's got to depend on the crystals' will."

The green eyes flashed in the dark. "So these crystals can only summon the Skull Ones? And nothing else? The Skull Ones must be working for the wizards of the Night Spirit."

"I know you're a shaman…"

"Not yet." Teebo was not quite sure why he denied it, but the words simply escaped his mouth.

"…or whatever you may be, but trust me, this is not magic. I have a magic stone that I got from the Yuzzum wizard." Kaalwar took a small gem out of his pouch. "I was the only one who could figure out how to use it when we had to summon him, but it was hard."

Teebo started coughing and shaking. This was the moment he realised that the Yuzzum Kaalwar spoke of was the hooded creature that disfigured him. He moved a couple more steps back, until Kaalwar could no longer see him. Paploo subtly stepped on Latara's foot and she nodded.

"There is hay bedding in both of the back chambers, in case you are unwell and in need of a rest," the Dulok said.

Teebo just nodded and dragged his feet to the smaller of the chambers. His hands and feet were not listening to him, as if they belonged to somebody else, but he managed to get the fur blanket out of his backpack. The gurreck skull headdress, on the other hand, had never felt as heavy, not even while he was still weak. Taking it off for the night always made his head feel lighter, but this time, the headdress felt heavier than ever and he was sure that he had an ache in his neck. There was a remedy in his pouch, but he suddenly lacked the dexterity to apply it. Where was Latara with her constant groping now, when he actually needed it? Surely she liked him more than she liked the stories of firesticks and other evil weapons of the demons? Surely she liked him more than the Dulok who once served the monster that almost destroyed them both?

He ran his fingers through the fur on top of his head, but in his current state he managed to stick a finger into his own eye. And how silly of him was it to forget that he no longer hard a forelock of fair fur? Or that he no longer had anything that made him young, non-threatening and not boar-wolf-like? Once again, where was Latara to convince him that none of the dark thoughts coming to him were true? Did he just hear her and Paploo _cackling_ along with that Dulok?

With one eye open and slowly falling asleep, Teebo realised that Latara was not coming.

"So, he was a Yuzzum." He kept on repeating this, almost talking himself to sleep.

In the main chamber, Kaalwar was telling Paploo, Kneesaa and Latara his side of the story.

"After the lost battle and Patrash's death, I ruled the tribe for a couple of moons. Then we made a mistake. We, errr, sought old Murgoob of Gorneesh's tribe, hoping he could deliver a prophecy about the future. He proclaimed that Kalgoto – the giant Dulok you knocked unconscious, Paploo – would be a better and stronger leader than me. My second-in-command agreed, as did Gorneesh, his bumbling shaman and his wife. The only one who was on my side was Galak, the young Dulok who killed Patrash."

"That one is pretty smart, I recall." Paploo seemed to have only the best words for Umwak's nephew. Unlike him, Kneesaa and Latara cackled. They could recall Galak being quite the opposite of being smart – the day when he and his uncle got caught in a sticky net in the Arbo Maze.

"Kalgoto was never smart – otherwise he would have killed Galak in the battle and he would have killed you too, Paploo. In fact, I came to realise that Gorneesh was smarter than him and your tribe dealt with him, so you will understand the comparison. The night before the swamp erupted, I had a hunch. I was pretty sure I saw some strange beings in the forest. Nobody listened to me, nobody but young Galak. He urged his uncle to leave the swamp. Gorneesh, Urgah and their bratlings followed."

"So, Gorneesh's brain did not actually leak through his empty eye socket?" Latara rolled her eyes. "Nice to know. Didn't seem that way when I was babysitting those bratlings of his some snows ago."

"You did? You poor munyip! Dealing with those, especially prince Boogutt, was worse than taking a bath." Kaalwar noticed that all three Ewoks moved away from him. "Arandee, as you say, I live under a waterfall now. Of course I take baths." He was almost embarrassed.

"And what happened then?" Kneesaa asked. "We did not see any of them when Wicket set a bunch of Duloks free some moons ago."

"You did not see me either, right? I don't know where and how I lost the group, but I have been getting by for quite a while now. I learned how to deal with the Skull Ones and I pray to the Ni…I mean, Light Spirit that I don't get caught."

Kaalwar stopped to catch a breath, realising he had nothing more to say. Paploo and Latara looked at Kneesaa.

"I guess we owe you our side of the story."

"I understand if you don't want to share it, but – judging by your backpacks – you are probably going somewhere far, far away from here. But…if you really want to come back to your village someday and not feed the trees on your voyage, I will help you. I can tell you all I know about Skull Ones and the Grey Ones."

"What do you ask for in return?" Kneesaa was suspicious.

"Nothing. You spared my life once. It was only right that I helped you."


	7. Strongholds to Conquer

"Good morning, honeydrop!"

There was no response. Latara leaned over Teebo and tickled him on the chin. He turned around, covering himself over the top of his head. She shrugged and dragged herself underneath the blanket.

"I said 'good morning, honeydrop'…" she whispered into his ear, running her fingers through his fur. "You know, this is our first morning away from home ever since we got together. And Paploo and Kneesaa are outside, with Kaalwar."

He was shivering. This happened before, but this time, every single hair on his fur was up. She proceeded to kiss him on the lips and he let out a barely audible "mmmhm".

Then, to her surprise, he pushed her away.

"Cut that out!"

She almost fell off the hay bedding, but somehow managed to keep her balance.

"Teebo, what is wrong with you?"

He pulled the blanket and got up. "What do you think you were doing? I was barely awake."

"In case you forgot, we were in a relationship come yesterday, and for the past couple of moons."

"A relationship involves caring about each other." Teebo was not turning around, as if he was avoiding to even look at her. "You…did not do that last night."

"What?" She put her hands on her hips and stomped her foot. "I shoot the Skull One to make sure he doesn't come alive and attack you over your use of magic."

Teebo was now trying to tie the blanket around his waist, like a robe, but still not putting his headdress on. "I was hoping that you would come and check on me, after I left mid-conversation with Kaalwar. I was not feeling well. I needed some pain remedy applied to the back of my head and my neck and I couldn't do it myself, my hands were simply not listening to me."

"So, that's the game he's playing?" Latara thought to herself and batted her eyelashes, solely to slap herself on the face. Why was she being charming when he was _not even looking at her_? She coughed and tried to approach things from her point of view.

"I did not come to check on you, because we were never in the same chamber together, alone, with one or both of our hoods off, around any kind of bedding..."

"No, we were not." He nodded and paused. The tone she spoke in was irritating, or so he thought. "Sure that would be your first idea about it. That _we were never alone_ , and not _that I may be in pain_. You…you see everything through seeing the stars…and, by that, I don't mean what I do at the observatory."

"Chak, so what? You are my boyfriend, isn't that normal? I have not explicitly said it since I was drunk at Wicket's coming out of age party, but I drop some hints every now and then. I need to be blunt right now. Do you want to see the stars with me?"

"Of course. I want to make you happy. But I already said that..."

"...that you want it to be spontaneous. I know. Your reasons, however...I don't understand. Do you like my fur? Do you think I have a pretty face?"

"Chak. I don't think anybody would ever think otherwise. You're the most b…"

She cut him short. "Fine! Do you like how it feels when you touch me?"

"It's not that simple. This, just like everything else between us, is sacred to me, Latara. I need to know we are both pure and…that I'm free of any thought of the Night Spirit. I cannot lose control of my mind. I already lost it once in the cave of that evil creature, I was close to turning away from the good and becoming a monster."

"Lose control of your mind? As in, feel happy, overwhelmed? Come on. You probably do the same thing I do when falling asleep. You know, _thinking of me_."

"Chak." The green eyes almost glowed with light for a second. "I do! I picture my Soul Tree in my mind and ask it to give us guidance of the Light Spirit and keep us safe from beasts, forest fires and other dangers throughout the night."

Latara was close to hitting her head against the cave walls. "That's right, Teebo...I do that, too. Now, please, excuse me while I throw myself off the waterfall, or something."

"Don't hurt yourself."

"It's not like you will see me hurt myself, anyway…you won't even _look_ at me this morning!"

"T'hesh! For Soul Trees' sake, shut up, both of you!"

Teebo and Latara both turned around, to see Kneesaa standing in the archway.

"Kaalwar and I, we are trying to make sure we survive our quest here." Her two friends were staring at her with their mouths open. Did she just _yell_ at them? As a matter of a fact, did the princess of the Bright Tree Village _ever_ yell at anybody before? She was suddenly scared of herself. But if this was what it took to put some sense into her friends, then she should not allow them to see it.

With one angry "k'vark", she marched through the larger chamber and went outside, where Kaalwar was waiting for her on the cliff.

"I just realised something. You are the leader of this group, right?" he asked.

"Chak. How did you guess?"

"The one who hates me was just not made to lead anybody, the other two are hot-blooded and they remind me of the one that dragged me into dedicating all my life to blood revenge. So, it had to be you. You are not assertive enough, but you seem to know what you're doing."

"You are wrong." She shook her head and put another piece of wood in the pit. "None of us know what we're doing. At this point, I…I almost wonder if the spirits sent us to our demise, by tricking my father into thinking that sending us on an expedition would be a good idea."

Kaalwar cocked his head. He didn't quite understand what Kneesaa was trying to tell him. But he was still willing to help her and her friends on their quest.

…

A little later, the group was riding makants through the tall, sun-burnt vegetation of the Grasslands, heading to the southern edge of the desert. The sun season must have been warmer than the one when the forest almost burned down. The tall stalks did not bear anything remotely similar to flowers and fruit and there was no scent, whatsoever.

The Ewoks were all silent, as if they were suddenly a group of complete strangers and not best friends. The most recent time they were here, they could not make the friendly insectoids' cackling, this time, it was like the makants were having their own discussion over them – chirping, making that sound similar to tongue clicks, nodding and shaking their heads.

Every now and then, Kneesaa would count something on her six fingers, trying to remember every single thing Kaalwar told her about. Not assertive enough. Not assertive enough. Comparisons with her sister would have been inevitable back home at the Bright Tree Village. Even Bozzie. Even Paploo. How was she to run the village someday? Not that the idea of her father's passing did not seen frightening to begin with.

Soon, the tall grass gave place to nothing but pale, lifeless soil.

"So, I am the only one who's never been here and the three of you did not tell me what to look for, yet I happen to be riding ahead of you." Latara broke the silence. "Like, goopa, we've just arrived to the desert. What next?"

Paploo shook his head. Could they have been so strange after their experience with a Skull One and a Dulok saving them that they failed to remember that Latara was not a part of the group when they visited the Gupins back in the days?

"Oh, k'vark…you are right." The second part of the sentence always felt like a special kind of a defeat when communicated to Latara, but he managed not to sound rude this time. Was that a victory? "From the empty mouth of this former stream, the Grass Trekkers' shrine should be to the left and the Gupin Stronghold to the right."

Latara pointed to what seemed to be a pile of purple-grey rocks in the distance.

"Some shrine it is…did they build it with their eyes closed?"

"Eecha! It did not look like that the last time around." Paploo grabbed his head with both hands. "It was a very rough pile of rocks, but it did look like an actual shrine!"

"I have a bad feeling about this." Kneesaa finally spoke. "And the makants have been chirping loud all along, but now they almost sound like Skandits!"

"What are they saying, Teebo? Teebo!" Paploo reeled his animal companion towards his friend, the only way

"T-they're saying that magic Grass Trekkers killed the normal ones and that we should run towards…what…I have never heard this word before."

Before Latara, Paploo and Kneesaa could say anything, Teebo already directed the makants in the other direction. Seconds later, one of them started chirping loudly again and then, all four stopped before three carcasses.

"K'vark!" Paploo put his hands over his face, to block the odour, but still approached the dead. "I did think that they should all be gone, that one time they chased me around this desert, but…this is not a pleasant sight."

"They don't look like something that should have lived…" Latara attempted to push beak of one dead Trekker out of the way, having seen something below the body. "No accounting for taste, as I always say…"

"Latara! Everything and everybody has the right to live."

"T'hesh! Whatever the third carcass is of, it does not look like it ever lived."

Kneesaa was about to object to her friend ignoring yet-another-lesson-on-morals, but then she noticed that both Teebo and Paploo seemed intrigued by what Latara just found. Unlike the violet-grey Trekkers, this - whatever it may have been - was silver-grey.

"Can you do anything about this?" Kneesaa asked Teebo.

He shrugged and started chanting, his arms extending to the closest leg on the pile. Slowly, the remains of one of the Trekkers started levitating.

"You are going to stop that!" An orange-haired gnome spoke from behind him. "Right now! They could see you and come back and then we'd all be dead!"

"C-chak?!" Teebo was still not sure what happened.

"Come here, now." The group recognised the voice of their Gupin friend, Mring-Mring. "Follow me."

"Weren't we friends before?"

"I will explain everything later!" Ubel cut Paploo short. "We have to hide. Now!"

Before they knew, a bunch of tiny five-fingered hands pulled them towards a hole in the ground.


End file.
